At the beginning of the industrial era, towns like East Chicago and Marktown were booming steel towns with a bright future. However, this was short-lived and short-sighted as the monumental amounts of pollution and degradation of the environment took their toll. East Chicago in Indiana is one of the most bio-diverse regions in the country. It is a real shame that this bio-diversity became set upon by the major refineries along the Great Lakes such as the refinery in Whiting, Indiana. Now this land is extremely unhealthy to live in. The most recent stories are of incredible amounts of lead in the soil and drinking water in East Chicago.

This is another example of Environmental Injustice. Since East Chicago and Marktown are relatively low-income neighborhoods, their needs are largely ignored by the local and federal government. In a civilized world where justice is actually enacted, these hard-working people would be rewarded with a Just Transition program that would offer a stable income and job re-training so that the workers could be re-trained in the clean, sustainable energy industry and there could be hope for their families and for the future. As it is, these hard-working families in this area, often under-educated about the environmental issues and long-term health hazards, will continue to be exploited until the time when a compassionate government is instituted, a more cooperative (instead of competitive) economic system evolves, or the people rise up and take the future into their own hands.